designLED Products Acquired by World Leading Automotive Technology Company

LED lighting technology innovators, designLED Products, today announced that it has been acquired by Faurecia for an undisclosed sum. Livingston based designLED has developed advanced, flexible technology uniquely suited to a growing range of automotive lighting and human machine interface (HMI) applications.

Finalising the deal, designLED CEO, Stuart Bain, commented, “This is a hugely important and exciting milestone in the evolution of designLED.  In recent years we have established the company as a leader in automotive lighting and HMI innovation, building a reputation based not only on an extensive technology and intellectual property portfolio, but also the highly skilled and energetic team, which is already delivering ground-breaking lighting solutions to international OEM and Tier 1 customers.”

He continued, “Looking to the future, the designLED team will be able to utilise Faurecia’s global reach, international customer base and world-class engineering and manufacturing skills to accelerate adoption of our differentiated display and back-lighting technology.  The management team and employees are excited to move forward at pace under this new ownership.”

“designLED’s advanced technologies and team will enrich Faurecia’s display technologies ecosystem” said Edouard da Silva, displays global product line director at Faurecia Clarion Electronics. “Immersive experiences are fast becoming a defining factor in mobility, and through the acquisition of designLED we aim to strengthen Faurecia’s unique positioning in cockpit user experiences.”

Scotland’s economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise, has provided support to the company since it was established. Following the acquisition, Jan Robertson, Interim Director of Growth Investments at Scottish Enterprise said, “the outstanding designLED team has created an impressive portfolio of lighting technology which will be a real asset to Faurecia and its Clarion Electronics activity. Having supported designLED’s growth we are excited to see how it develops under the global stewardship of Faurecia.”

The entire designLED team will transfer to Faurecia and will continue to develop its technology from its base in Livingston.

The M&A process was managed by Aquin & Cie, headquartered in Munich, on behalf of designLED and its shareholders. Addleshaw Goddard Glasgow acted as a legal advisor to the sellers: https://aquin.com/ and www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/